ICC does away with batting power-play, makes cricket bowler-friendly

Bridgetown (Barbados): In a bid to make the sport more balanced between bat and ball, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced several changes which will make the game a little more bowler-friendly after the rules come in to effect July 5 onwards.

The biggest change that will come about, is that the sport’s governing body has decided to drop the batting power-play which is held between overs 15-40. The ICC also decided to do away with the compulsory catches rule in the 10 overs.

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Another major change that will help the bowlers in the death overs is that from July 5 onwards, five fielders, and not four, will be allowed outside the 30-yard circle in the last 10 overs. These rules are applicable in One-Day International (ODI) cricket.

Another change that will be applicable in both ODIs and Twenty20 Internationals is that all no balls, and not just foot faults, will result in free hits.

“We have thoroughly reviewed the ODI format after a very successful World Cup. There was no need to make any radical changes to what has proved to be a vibrant and popular format but we wanted to take this opportunity to make the format simpler and easier to follow for the public as well as maintaining a balance between bat and ball,” ICC Chief Executive, David Richardson, said in a statement on Saturday.

“In making these adjustments, we have tried to ensure that ODI cricket retains the attacking, aggressive and thrilling brand, which has recently become the hallmark of 50-over cricket and sets us on a positive path to the next World Cup in England in 2019.”

All the decisions were taken during the ICC Annual Conference, which concluded here on Friday under the chairmanship of Narayanaswami Srinivasan, who is a former Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president.

The changes to the playing conditions were approved by the ICC Chief Executives’ Committee, which is chaired by Richardson, on Monday and Tuesday. The recommendations were made by the ICC Cricket Committee.

The key changes:

– No compulsory catchers in overs 1-10 (ODIs)
– No batting Power-play between overs 15-40 (ODIs)
– Five fielders allowed outside the 30-yard circle in overs 41-50 (ODIs)
– All ‘no balls’, not just ‘foot faults’, to result in a free hit (ODIs & T20Is)

He was the Man of the series in an ODI series against Pakistan in 2006.

The cricketer has fought and survived cancer.

Yuvraj Singh, a cricketer who plays all forms of the game. He is an all-rounder, left-handed batsman, and slow left-arm orthodox bowler. The cricketer was diagnosed with a cancerous tumour in 2011 in his left lung, he underwent a chemotherapy. After a break of almost a year, he made his international comeback in a Twenty20 match in September 2012.

He was many achievements to his name including that of Padma Shri Award and Arjuna Award. The Test of My Life: From Cricket to Cancer and Back is his autobiography.

1. 139 vs Australia

He was playing the seventh match of VB series in Sydney on 22nd January 2004. In one of his finest efforts, he scored a 139 against Australia. Though India lost the match, but Yuvraj Singh did prove that he possessed match-winning capabilities.

2. 107 vs Pakistan

It was a five-match ODI series against Pakistan in March 2006. India’s target was 286, which was quite competitive as Pakistan was playing for pride. However, Yuvraj Singh along with M.S. Dhoni led India to an easy victory. India won the series by 4 to 1. Yuvraj had an unbeaten score of 107 off 93 balls. He was named Man of the Match and also Man of the series.

The Punjabi player slew England when he shot 6 sixes off an over. Wikimedia Commons

3. 103 vs South Africa

Another five-match ODI series, this time with South Africa in 2005. Though India lost this match by 5 wickets, Yuvraj Singh had scored 103 off 122 balls, it included 10 boundaries, out which 3 were sixes. He scored this century when the top batting order had failed. Singh had scored three centuries in that series, all three under pressure.

4. 110 vs West Indies

He was the playing in the sixth match of the Indian Oil Cup in Colombo on 7th August 2005. Yuvraj Singh is remembered for this match due to his angry gestures and annoyance at coach Greg Chappell’s criticism of his batting. He had steadied the score to 262 with 110 after the top order failed. India won the match by 7 runs.

5. 118 and 4/28 vs England

He picked four important wickets in this match, which included Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen. On 17th November 2008, it was the second ODI between India and England at Indore. He contribution was 118 to a 292 total score. India won the match by 54 runs.

Yuvraj Singh plays all forms of Cricket, he is an all-rounder. Wikimedia Commons

6. 58 vs England

This was the grand record-making match. It was in this match that Yuvraj hit 6 sixes off 6 balls. He scored 58 runs off 16 balls during the Super Eights match between England and Indian during ICC Twenty20 Cricket World Championship. India had won the game by 18 runs.

7. 70 vs Australia

Semi Final match between India and Australia of the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup. In this match, the hits flowed off his bat in torrents and piloted India to a magnificent 188 in 20 overs. Yuvraj underlined his importance with a catch which sent back the dangerous Mike Hussey. India won the match by 15 runs.

8. 2/44 and 57 vs Australia

This was Ricky Ponting’s last match. The quarter-final match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 between India and Australia. He guided his team to a competitive total of 260. But Yuvraj foiled his plans with an all-around performance. He sent Brad Haddin and Michael Clarke to the pavilion and also scored a vital half-century which resulted in India’s unforgettable win.

The Test of My Life is Yuvraj Singh’s autobiography. Wikimedia Commons

9. 69 vs England

This was a time when India had consequently lost 9 one-day finals. England gave a heavy target of 326. India lost 5 wickets after the 1 wicket got off. When Tendulkar fell, many switched off their televisions as he went back to pavilion. However, there were two men still standing on the crease. Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif made a marvellous partnership that led to India winning the match. This was the match in after which Saurav Ganguly took off his shirt at Lord’s.